Category: Bible study

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

Sunday, June 25, 2011

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul exhorts Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith.” We, as members of the Church the Body of Christ, are soldiers. In Philippians 2:25, Paul calls Epaphroditus his “fellowsoldier.” Paul also mentions Archippus, he and Timothy’s “fellow-soldier” (Philemon 1:2). The Apostle encouraged Timothy, “Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Timothy 2:3,4).

Ephesians 6:10-18 describes the battle between God’s purpose and program and Satan’s purpose and program. The Bible says we must put on “the whole armour of God” if we are to endure that spiritual war. Verse 12 reads, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”

How does Satan triumph over the Christian? It starts within the mind! We read in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

We must renew our minds by studying the King James Bible “rightly divided” on a daily basis (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 4:22-24; Ephesians 5:26). The Word of God is “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17). Let God’s Word that you have believed defend you as Satan attacks your mind.

Some of the Apostle Paul’s final words read (2 Timothy 4:6,7): “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:”

Let us too keep the faith! Let us too fight the good fight of faith!

Meditate in God’s Word

Saturday, June 18, 2011

“I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways” (Psalm 119:15 KJV).

The King James Bible contains 791,328 words. Considering what God could have written, His Word is a rather short book! The Bible is a supernatural book, so it takes studying. It speaks of events that are not what we consider “everyday experiences.” Its occasional symbolic language makes learning it sometimes difficult.

But, if we have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Holy Spirit resides in us. He gives us the capacity needed to understand God’s written Word: “Which things we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13).

The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). We need to “consider” God’s Word. Think about what you read in God’s Word. Recall that 2 Timothy 2:15 tells us that we need to “study” the Bible, not just casually skim through it: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

Christ called Bible study “searching the scriptures” (John 5:39). In Acts 17:10,11, we read only once of the believers of Berea: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” The Bereans actually studied the Bible to see if what they heard was true—they did not just shout “Amen!” to everything they heard.

We may not always understand everything in the Bible, but we are to meditate day in and day out in God’s Holy Scriptures! Study your King James Bible, and think about what was written by asking questions. How does it compare to other Scriptures? Is it a doctrine supported by the Apostle Paul? How can this apply to your life?

“Consider what I say, and the Lord give thee understanding in all things.”

Do You Rightly Divide the Word of Truth?

Sunday, June 5, 2011

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

This is the key to Bible study and understanding Bible “contradictions.” God designed His Word to be studied, not casually skimmed. God also wants us to study “rightly dividing the word of truth.” We seek to be “approved unto God”—we do not seek man’s approval! Christendom’s greatest error is its refusal to study God’s Word, God’s way.

God created two realms, the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1); He designed a program to govern each realm. The prophetic program is that “which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Romans 16:25,26 speaks of the mystery program, “which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest….” Every Bible verse fits into either the prophetic program or the mystery program. When we take verses from one program, and force them into the other program, Bible “contradictions” arise.

God’s people in the prophetic program are the nation Israel, His earthly people to whom He promised an earthly kingdom (Genesis 13:16; Genesis 17:8; Deuteronomy 4:38; 2 Samuel 7:23-25). God’s people in the mystery program are the Church the Body of Christ, His heavenly people to whom belongs the promise of a heavenly kingdom (2 Corinthians 5:1; Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6; Colossians 3:1-3).

Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, as members of the Body of Christ, Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13). Everything that God has to say to us today in the mystery (secret) program is found in Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon. The remainder of the Bible is God speaking to Israel concerning her prophetic program. All of the Bible is for us, but not all the Bible is to us or about us.

May we never take Israel’s doctrine and force it on others or ourselves. May we always seek God’s approval by “rightly dividing the word of truth!”